Advice on Early Decision and Early Action

[Anonymous]

Does anyone have advice on this who has been through the process? By the time your child is applying do you have enough informaiton to make an informed decision? Did your family follow the advice of the school's counselor? Do you wish you did anything differently? If so, what? Any lessons learned you can share would be helpful. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Do it if you're trying to get into a top 20. Otherwise, don't sweat it.

[Anonymous]

Personally, I don't see much downside to non-binding early action. Your odds of acceptance are much higher. Of course, this depends on having junior year grades and SATs that are good enough, in the bank. If a student needs a higher SAT or a strong first senior semester, wait. Students who get accepted early have a big load off their minds. When our normally reserved DS got his first acceptance letter he went around high-fiving people! Better yet, his stress level went way down for the rest of senior year.

Early decison is another thing altogether. There are two big downsides. One, you are locked in. Two, you won't have the financial aid package info you need to make an informed decision. That said, if your child is in love with one school, that is a reach, go for it.

By the way, your school may need a little prodding to get recommendations and transcripts sent by the early deadlines. They are pretty good with the regular deadlines, but they are not always running at full speed early in the year.

[Anonymous]

NP here. We've been wondering the same things. So thanks!

[Anonymous]

It's not true about being locked into a school not knowing financial aid info. DD applied early decision to a top SLAC that she loved. She was accepted mid-December and received her award package three weeks later. She knew if the package wasn't enough, we would have to turn it down and continue applying to other schools. Luckily, it worked out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's not true about being locked into a school not knowing financial aid info. DD applied early decision to a top SLAC that she loved. She was accepted mid-December and received her award package three weeks later. She knew if the package wasn't enough, we would have to turn it down and continue applying to other schools. Luckily, it worked out.

You are right. You know what your ED's school finacial aid package is. What you don't know is what other deals she might have gotten from other schools. That's why ED is a big gamble.

[Anonymous]

Is it possible to take the SATs in September of senior year, and still apply early decision/early action?

[Anonymous]

Looks like this year's fall SAT is October 6 with results released to colleges October 25. ED/EA deadlines are usually either 1 November or 15 November, so they would make it.

[Anonymous]

When money isn't an issue and credentials for admission are borderline, ED certainly can help. Many selective schools admit 50% of incoming first-year class during the ED process.

Read the fine print though. I know some ED applications, at least, are financially binding.

[Anonymous]

Our 3 older kids all applied and were accepted early (2 EA and 1 ED) with no down-side. They all had a good idea of where they wanted to go and -- more important -- why. They also knew where they wanted to apply if they didn't get in early and each had 1 or 2 applications ready to go. (This last is very important as I've seen some of their friends -- and their families -- go through misery when they don't get in and have to crank out 6-8 applications over the holidays.) Each one ran his plan past the school counselor, who agreed that it made sense. If our youngest wants to apply early, we'll certainly do it again. I think it gave her brothers a big boost in admissions and made the second semester of senior year much more relaxing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do it if you're trying to get into a top 20. Otherwise, don't sweat it.

?

Why not?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do it if you're trying to get into a top 20. Otherwise, don't sweat it.

?

Why not?

Personally I think this is bad advice. Admission rates are much higher during the ED/EA process. For ED the student has to absolutely know that the given college is definitely where he/she wants to go to school because it's financially binding and some kids find it's a hard decision to make. ED is problematic if there's a need for financial aid. EA is more forgiving but probably gives one less of a boost in terms of admissions rates since it's not binding.

[Anonymous]

I understand ED. But what's in it for the schools for EA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do it if you're trying to get into a top 20. Otherwise, don't sweat it.

?

Why not?

Disagree. If you kid has a clear number one choice school (if they got in there, they would go there), by all means apply early decision no matter the school ranking. They not only have a better chance of being accepted, but it also gets college applications over with earlier. If you apply ED somewhere and get in, you're done and free to enjoy the rest of your senior year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I understand ED. But what's in it for the schools for EA?

If a student has applied EA they have more than a passing interest in the college/university so it permits the school to better predict its application yield.

Some schools now have single choice early action (SCEA) which restricts applicants to one early app but isn't financially binding. It allows the financial aid student to enjoy the admissions rate boost of an early application but allows the student to have the freedom to compare financial aid packages.